Payload monitoring system for haul vehicle

ABSTRACT

A payload monitoring system is disclosed for use with a haul vehicle. The payload monitoring system may have at least one emitter configured to direct an energy beam into the haul vehicle during relative movement between the at least one emitter and the haul vehicle, and at least one receiver configured to detect the energy beam and to generate a corresponding signal. The payload monitoring system may also have a controller in communication with the at least one receiver and configured to determine a loading condition of the haul vehicle based on the corresponding signal.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/098,493 filed on Dec. 31, 2014, the contents of whichare expressly incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to a payload monitoring system and,more particularly, to a payload monitoring system for a haul vehicle.

BACKGROUND

Mobile haul vehicles, such as railcars, are used to haul ore betweendifferent locations. For example, the railcars can be loaded with ore ata mine site, and transport the ore to a final use location or to a portat which the ore is offloaded to a ship. The ore can be loaded onto therailcars via excavation machines (e.g., wheel loaders, rope shovels,hydraulic shovels, etc.) or an automated hopper/feeder, and unloaded byway of a rotary dumper that holds each car while flipping itupside-down.

Care should be taken when loading and unloading haul vehicles.Specifically, it can be important to load each vehicle with a productiveamount of ore that does not overburden the vehicle. Similarly, the loadshould be distributed evenly to promote smooth operation of the haulvehicle without causing damage. It can also be important to completelyempty the vehicle during unloading so as to be efficient in the haulingprocess. If some ore is left in the vehicle after loading, in additionto reducing an efficiency of the vehicle, the remaining ore couldimbalance the vehicle. An imbalanced vehicle has the potential to causepremature wear.

Historically, loading and unloading of a haul vehicle has been manuallyobserved or monitored. In particular, as the vehicle is being loaded, anoperator of the excavation machine and/or the hopper/feeder would lookinto the haul vehicle and make a judgment call as to when the vehicle isproperly loaded and balanced. Likewise, after the vehicle has beenflipped over during unloading, the operator of the rotary dumper wouldlook into the vehicle and determine if an amount of ore remaining in thevehicle is significant enough and/or critically positioned enough towarrant additional effort be spent removing the ore. While adequate forsome applications, these processes may be labor intensive and prone toerror.

The payload monitoring system of the present disclosure is directedtowards overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/orother problems of the prior art.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a payload monitoringsystem for a haul vehicle. The payload monitoring system may include atleast one emitter configured to direct an energy beam into the haulvehicle during relative movement between the at least one emitter andthe haul vehicle, and at least one receiver configured to detect theenergy beam and to generate a corresponding signal. The payloadmonitoring system may also include a controller in communication withthe at least one receiver and configured to determine a loadingcondition of the haul vehicle based on the corresponding signal.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a method ofmonitoring payload of a haul vehicle. The method may include directingan energy beam from a source location into the haul vehicle duringrelative movement between the haul vehicle and the source location. Themethod may also include detecting the energy beam and generating acorresponding signal. The method may further include determining aloading condition of the haul vehicle based the corresponding signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 are isometric illustrations of exemplary disclosedworksites; and

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary disclosed payloadmonitoring system that may be used in conjunction with the worksites ofFIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 and 2 each illustrate an exemplary worksite associated withtransportation of material (e.g., ore). Specifically, worksite 10 ofFIG. 1 is associated with the loading of material into railcars 12 of atrain 14, while worksite 16 of FIG. 2 is associated with unloading ofthe material. It should be noted that other worksites and/or haulvehicles may be utilized in conjunction with the disclosed concepts, ifdesired.

Equipment may be located at both worksites 10, 16 to facilitate theloading and unloading processes. For example, at worksite 10, a wheelloader 18 is used to scoop material from a pile 20 and to deposit thematerial into a hopper 22. A feeder 24 (e.g., a conveyor) may beassociated with hopper 22 and configured to transport a steady stream ofmaterial to a location over railcars 12. In this arrangement, feeder 24may be a continuous feeder that deposits the material into railcars 12as railcars 12 continuously move past a distal end of feeder 24. In somearrangements, wheel loader 18 may directly load railcars 12, if desired.In the example shown in FIG. 2, railcars 12 are individually propelledinto a rotary dumper 26, which functions to flip railcars 12upside-down, thereby dumping the contents into a collection area below.Other methods and equipment may alternatively be used to unload railcars12, if desired.

Each of the pieces of equipment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 may have variouscontrols used to affect the loading and unloading processes. Forexample, wheel loader 18 may be filled with more or less material,driven faster or slower, raised higher or lower, positioned differently,etc. Hopper 22 may be filled with more or less material; and feeder 24may be elevated differently, positioned differently, and sped up orslowed down. Likewise, rotary dumper 26 may rotate to different angles,cycle through rotations multiple times, rotate at variable speeds,shake, etc. Each of these controls may be adjusted manually orautomatically based on monitored loading conditions. For the purposes ofthis disclosure, the phrase “loading condition” may be considered anamount of material inside railcars 12 and/or a distribution or locationof the material.

FIG. 3 illustrates a payload monitoring system (“system”) 28 that may beused at worksites 10, 16 in conjunction with the loading and unloadingequipment described above. System 28 may include, among other things, atleast one emitter 30, at least one receiver 32, and a controller 35 incommunication with emitter 30. Two emitters 30 and two receivers 32 areshown in the example of FIG. 3. It should be noted, however, that anynumber of emitters 30 and any number of receivers 32 may be utilized.

Each emitter 30 may generate an energy beam 34 directed into railcar 12.In the example of FIG. 3, one emitter 30 is located at each side ofrailcar 12, and both emitters 30 are aligned with each other to generatea single continuous line of colored light across the material heldinside of railcar 12 and across the inner walls of railcar 12. It iscontemplated, however, that a single emitter 30 could be utilized forthis purpose, and mounted directly over railcar 12. In the disclosedembodiment, emitter 30 is a laser that is configured to generate a lineof colored light visible by receiver 32. Other types of emitters 30, forexample a sound emitter, may also be utilized for this purpose, ifdesired.

Each receiver 32 may be utilized to detect energy beam 34 and togenerate corresponding signals directed to controller 35. In the exampleof FIG. 3, one receiver 32 is located at each side of railcar 12, andboth receivers 32 are configure to generate signals associated withdifferent portions of energy beam 34. It is contemplated, however, thata single receiver 32 could be utilized for this purpose, and mounteddirectly over railcar 12. In the disclosed embodiment, receiver 32 is acamera configured to capture images of the line of colored lightresulting from reflection of energy beam 34 off the material and wallsinside railcar 12.

Energy beam 34 and the corresponding images may be generated as railcar12 moves relative to a source location of emitters 30 and receivers 32.For example, as railcars 12 pass under feeder 24 (referring to FIG. 1),emitters 30 may generate a stationary line of line via laser beams 34,and receivers 32 may continuously photograph the line of light over thelength of railcar 12 as railcar 12 passes under the light. In oneembodiment, an image may be generated every .5 m along the length ofrailcar 12, these images then collected by controller 35 to form acomposite image of the contours inside railcar 12. In this example,emitters 30 and receivers 32 may be mounted to stationary gantry 36associated with the distal end of feeder 24.

In another example, emitters 30 and receivers 32 may be connected tomovable gantry 36 associated with rotary dumper 26 (referring to FIG.2). In this example, as railcars 12 are being flipped over by rotarydumper 26, emitters 30 and/or receivers 32 may move along gantry 36 tophotograph the inside contours of railcar 12.

Controller 35 may be configured to receive the signals generated byreceivers 32 and determine the loading characteristic of each railcar 12based on the signals. Controller 35 may include a memory, a secondarystorage device, a clock, and one or more processors that cooperate toaccomplish a task consistent with the present disclosure. Numerouscommercially available microprocessors can be configured to perform thefunctions of controller 35. It should be appreciated that controller 35could readily embody a general controller capable of controllingnumerous other equipment control functions at worksites 10 and 16.Various known circuits may be associated with controller 35, includingsignal-conditioning circuitry, communication circuitry, and otherappropriate circuitry. It should also be appreciated that controller 35may include one or more of an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a computer system, and alogic circuit configured to allow controller 35 to function inaccordance with the present disclosure.

Based on the collection of images produced by receivers 32, controller35 may create a virtual map of the inside of railcar 12. The virtual mapmay include the outer surface contours of the material and any exposedportions of the inner walls of railcar 12. In an exemplary embodiment,controller 35 may then compare this virtual map with a map stored inmemory to determine the amount (e.g., a volume) and/or the distributionof the material inside railcar 12. The map stored in memory maycorrespond with the particular railcar 12 being photographed, and becreated based at least in part on known geometry of that railcar 12.

Controller 35 may selectively generate a flag based on the comparisonthe two maps (i.e., based on the amount of material inside railcar 12).For example, during loading of railcars 12, controller 35 may determinea difference between the amount of material inside a particular railcar12 and a known capacity of railcar 12. If the amount is significantlydifferent (e.g., different by at least a threshold amount), controller35 may generate the flag indicating under or overloading of theparticular railcar 12. In another example, during unloading of railcars12, controller 35 may quantify the amount of material remaining insiderailcar 12 after the unloading process of that railcar 12 is completebased on the map comparison. If the remaining amount of material is morethan a threshold amount, then controller 35 may generate the flagindicating incomplete unloading.

Controller 35 may also selectively rank the flags based on distributionof the material, the distribution also being determined from comparisonof the maps. For example, during the loading process, if too muchmaterial is loaded into a particular railcar 12, but the material iscentrally located such that railcar 12 is balanced, the ranking could berelatively low. In another example, if too much material remains withinrailcar 12 during unloading and is located high up on one side ofrailcar 12, the ranking could be relatively high.

The ranking performed by controller 35 may be selectively used by officepersonnel to implement future action. The future action could include,for example, affecting operation of the equipment at worksites 10 and/or16, such that future loading or unloading processes do not generate thesame flags. Additionally or alternative, the future actions couldinclude the shifting (e.g., redistribution) of material within railcar12, the dumping and reloading of railcar 12, or additional dumpingactions. For example, service technicians could be dispatched tomanually rake, shovel, or spray out the remaining material from railcar12.

In some embodiments, controller 35 may selectively communicate with theequipment at worksites 10 and/or 16 to automatically implement thefuture actions. In particular, system 28 could include communicationdevices 38 associated with controller 35 and with one or more pieces ofthe equipment. In this embodiment, based on the rankings, controller 35could be configured to wirelessly communicate instructions to operatorsof the equipment regarding future action that should be implementedmanually. Additionally or alternatively, controller 35 could beconfigured to wirelessly communicate commands that result inautomatically implemented future action. In one example associated withunloading of railcar 12, controller 35 may be configured toautomatically actuate a fluid spray system 40, causing system 40 tospray jets of fluid into railcar 12. The jets of fluid may be used todislodge material remaining inside railcar 12 after being flipped overby rotary dumper 26.

In some applications, the types of railcars 12 used to transportmaterial may vary. In these applications, it can be important forcontroller 35 to know which railcar 12 is currently undergoing theloading/unloading process, such that controller 35 may make the correctcomparisons using appropriate thresholds. In these applications,controller 35 may be configured to automatically identify each railcar12 as it undergoes a particular process. In one example, the same oradditional emitters 30 may be configured to direct energy beam 34 acrossan outer surface of railcar 12, and receivers 32 may be configured tocapture images of corresponding colored lines on the outer surface.Controller 35 may then generate a virtual map of the outer surface, andcompare this virtual map to a database of maps associated with differentconfigurations of railcars 12. Based on the comparison, controller 35may then identify the particular railcar 12, and use associated internalwall geometry and known capacities stored in memory in association withthe railcar identification for the purposes of flagging and ranking.

In an alternative embodiment, controller 35 may rely on signalsgenerated by an identification device 42. Identification device 42 couldembody, for example, an RFID reader configured to detect and recognize aunique RFID tag 44 affixed to railcar 12. Based on this recognition,controller 35 may then be able to retrieve from memory the associatedinternal wall geometry and known capacities. Other types ofidentification devices and indices may also be possible.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The disclosed payload monitoring system may be used in conjunction withany type of haul vehicle known in the art. The payload monitoring systemmay be particularly applicable to trains having multiple railcars whereefficiency and productivity are important. The disclosed payloadmonitoring system may help to improve productivity and efficiency byalerting personnel of improper loading conditions (e.g., under loadingor incomplete unloading), and allowing the personnel to make adjustmentsto the railcar currently being loaded/unloaded as well as to theequipment implementing the process. In some instances, the disclosedpayload monitoring system may also automatically implement futureactions to improve conditions and the process.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the payload monitoringsystem of the present disclosure without departing from the scope of thedisclosure. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in theart from consideration of the specification and practice of theembodiments disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of thedisclosure being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A payload monitoring system for a haul vehicle,comprising: at least one emitter configured to direct an energy beaminto the haul vehicle during relative movement between the at least oneemitter and the haul vehicle; at least one receiver configured to detectthe energy beam and generate a corresponding signal; and a controller incommunication with the at least one receiver and configured to determinea loading condition of the haul vehicle based on the correspondingsignal.
 2. The payload monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the atleast one emitter and the at least one receiver are mounted to astationary gantry, and the controller is configured to determine theloading condition as the haul vehicle passes under the stationarygantry.
 3. The payload monitoring system of claim 2, wherein thestationary gantry is associated with a feeder that fills the haulvehicle during loading.
 4. The payload monitoring system of claim 1,wherein the at least one emitter and the at least one receiver aremounted to a mobile gantry, and the controller is configured todetermine the loading condition as the mobile gantry passes over thehaul vehicle when the haul vehicle is stationary.
 5. The payloadmonitoring system of claim 4, wherein the mobile gantry is associatedwith a rotary dumper that turns the haul vehicle over during unloading.6. The payload monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the loadingcondition is associated with at least one of an amount and adistribution of material inside the haul vehicle.
 7. The payloadmonitoring system of claim 6, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to selectively generate a flag based on the amount ofmaterial inside the haul vehicle, the flag being indicative of a loadingor unloading condition.
 8. The payload monitoring system of claim 7,wherein the controller is further configured to rank the flag based ondistribution of the material within the haul vehicle.
 9. The payloadmonitoring system of claim 8, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to automatically implement an future action based on the rankof the flag.
 10. The payload monitoring system of claim 9, wherein thefuture action includes spraying of fluid inside the haul vehicle todislodge material remaining therein.
 11. The payload monitoring systemof claim 8, wherein the controller is further configured to instruct anoperator to manually implement an future action based on the rank of theflag.
 12. The payload monitoring system of claim 7, wherein: thecontroller is further configured to make a comparison of a knownconfiguration of the haul vehicle and the loading condition; and thecontroller is configured to selectively generate the flag based on thecomparison.
 13. The payload monitoring system of claim 12, furtherincluding an identification device configured to recognize an indexaffixed to the haul vehicle, wherein the controller is configured toretrieve the known configuration of the haul vehicle based on a signalfrom the identification device.
 14. The payload monitoring system ofclaim 12, wherein: the energy beam is a first energy beam; the at leastone emitter is further configured to direct a second energy beam onto anexternal portion of the haul vehicle; the corresponding signal is afirst signal; the at least one receiver is further configured to detectthe second energy beam and generate a second signal; and the controlleris configured to: recognize the haul vehicle based on the second signal;and retrieve the known configuration of the haul vehicle based onrecognition of the haul vehicle.
 15. The payload monitoring system ofclaim 1, wherein: the at least one emitter is a laser; and the at leastone receiver is a camera.
 16. A method of monitoring payload of a haulvehicle, comprising: directing an energy beam from a source locationinto the haul vehicle during relative movement between the haul vehicleand the source location; detecting the energy beam and generating acorresponding signal; and determining a loading condition of the haulvehicle based the corresponding signal.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein the loading condition is associated with at least one of anamount and a distribution of material inside the haul vehicle.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, further including: selectively generating a flagbased on the amount of material inside the haul vehicle, the flag beingindicative of a loading or unloading condition; and selectively rankingthe flag based on distribution of the material.
 19. The method of claim18, further including making a comparison of a known configuration ofthe haul vehicle and the loading condition, wherein selectivelygenerating the flag includes selectively generating the flag based onthe comparison.
 20. The method of claim 18, further includingselectively implementing an future action based on the ranking.